This path helps you build your skills as a collaborative leader. The projects on this path focus on active listening, motivating others and collaborating with a team. Each project contributes to building interpersonal communication and public speaking skills. This path culminates in a project focused on applying your leadership skills.
Team Collaboration
Projects
LEVEL ONE: Mastering Fundamentals
Ice Breaker
This foundational project is designed to introduce you to your club and the skills you need to begin your Toastmasters journey.
Purpose: The purpose of this project is to introduce yourself to the club and learn the basic structure of a public speech.
Overview: Write and deliver a speech about any topic to introduce yourself to the club. Your speech may be humorous, informational, or any other style that appeals to you.
This project includes:
■ A 4- to 6-minute speechEvaluation and Feedback
This project addresses the skills needed to give and receive feedback. You will learn about giving, receiving and applying feedback.
Purpose: The purpose of this project is to present a speech on any topic, receive feedback, and apply the feedback to a second speech.
Overview: Choose any topic for your first 5- to 7-minute speech. After your speech, carefully review your feedback. At a different club meeting, present a 5- to 7-minute speech in which you incorporate feedback from your first speech. You may choose to present the same speech again or a new speech. Your second speech should reflect some or all of the feedback from your first speech. Finally, after you have completed both speeches, serve as an evaluator at a club meeting and deliver constructive feedback about another member’s presentation.
This project includes:
■ A 5- to 7-minute speech
■ Incorporating feedback from your first speech into a second 5- to 7-minute speech
■ Serving as a speech evaluatorResearching and Presenting
This project addresses topic selection strategies, suggestions for research and methods for producing a wellorganized speech.
Purpose: The purpose of this project is to learn or review basic research methods and present a well-organized, well-researched speech on any topic.
Overview: Select a topic that you are not already familiar with or that you wish to learn more about. Be sure your topic is narrow enough to be an effective 5- to 7-minute speech. Research the topic and begin organizing the information, as described in this project. Practice your speech and continue to refine its organization. Present your speech at a club meeting.
This project includes:
■ Researching a topic
■ The Research Worksheet
■ The Speech Outline Worksheet
■ A 5- to 7-minute speech
LEVEL TWO: Learning Your Style
Understanding Your Leadership Style
This project is designed to introduce the different styles of leadership and help you identify your preferred style.
Purpose: The purpose of this project is to identify your primary leadership style or styles.
Overview: Complete the Discover Your Leadership Style questionnaire. Consider how your leadership style impacts the people around you and how you can adjust it to more effectively lead people with styles different from your own. Deliver a 5- to 7-minute speech at a club meeting to share some aspect of your leadership style or leadership styles in general. You may choose to discuss your style preferences when working with others, your style and how you can adapt it to situations, or leadership styles in general and how they impact a group.
This project includes:
■ The Discover Your Leadership Style questionnaire
■ A 5- to 7-minute speechActive Listening
This project covers the difference between hearing and listening, and steps for exploring the ways listening helps build strong, lasting connections.
Purpose: The purpose of this project is to demonstrate your ability to listen to what others say.
Overview: At a club meeting, fulfill the role of Topicsmaster. As Topicsmaster, comment on each speaker’s Table Topics® speech to demonstrate your active listening skills. For example, you might say, “Thank you. That was a compelling opinion on the benefits of gardening. I understand you feel strongly that everyone needs to spend some time doing something they love.”
This project includes:
■ Serving as Topicsmaster at a club meetingIntroduction to Toastmasters Mentoring
This project introduces the value of mentorship and the Toastmasters view of mentors and protégés.
Purpose: The purpose of this project is to clearly define how Toastmasters envisions mentoring.
Overview: Write and present a 5- to 7-minute speech about a time when you were a protégé. Share the impact and importance of having a mentor. This speech is not a report on the content of this project.
Note: Every member in Toastmasters Pathways must complete this project.
This project includes:
■ A 5- to 7-minute speech
LEVEL THREE: Increasing Knowledge
Successful Collaboration
The focus of this project is the benefit of collaboration, building an environment of trust, and encouraging creative debate within a group.
Purpose: The purpose of this project is to introduce or review strategies for working in a collaborative group.
Overview: Work with a small team and collaborate to make decisions. Your goal is to apply the collaboration strategies you learned to a small-scale project, such as planning a club meeting. Deliver a 5- to 7-minute speech at a club meeting about your experience with the collaboration process. Your speech is not a report on the content of this project. This speech is about you, your learning, and your perceptions of the experience.
This project includes:
■ Working with a small team to make a collaborative decision for a small-scale event
■ The Team-Building Activities resource
■ A 5- to 7-minute speech
ELECTIVES (choose 2)
LEVEL FOUR: Building Skills
Motivate Others
This project focuses on how people are motivated. It is designed to help you build your leadership skills by effectively motivating team members.
Purpose: The purpose of this project is to practice the skills needed to motivate team members through the completion of a project.
Overview: Build a team of three to four people to help you create and complete a project to benefit your club. Use the information in the project to develop motivational strategies for each team member. After the project, you may choose to ask team members and at least one club officer to complete a 360° evaluation to give you feedback on your communication and leadership. Deliver a 5- to 7-minute speech at a club meeting about your experience. Your speech is not a report on the content of this project.
This project includes:
■ Building and motivating a team to complete a project that benefits your club
■ The Team-Building Activities resource
■ The 360° Evaluation resource
■ A 5- to 7-minute speech
ELECTIVES (choose 1)
LEVEL FIVE: Demonstrating Expertise
Lead in Any Situation
This project focuses on leadership and recognizing the need to adapt your style based on the situation and the people you lead.
Purpose: The purpose of this project is to apply the skills needed to successfully lead in a volunteer or other organization.
Overview: For at least six months, take on a leadership role in Toastmasters (at any level), within another volunteer organization, or in your career. While serving in your role, ask your peers to complete a 360° evaluation. Present an 8- to 10-minute speech about your experience as a leader. Your speech may be humorous, informational, or any type that appeals to you. The speech is not a report on the content of this project, but a reflection of your experience and/or the impact of the 360° evaluation.
This project includes:
■ Serving in a leadership for a minimum of six months
■ A 360° evaluation
■ An 8- to 10-minute speechReflect on Your Path
This project is designed to give you an opportunity to share your experience at the end of your path.
Purpose: The purpose of this project is to reflect on your growth during the completion of an entire path.
Overview: At a club meeting, present a 10- to 12-minute speech to share your experience completing your path. Use this as an opportunity to reflect on how far you have come, summarize the skills you have learned and developed, and to celebrate your achievements. Your speech can be humorous, informational, or any style that that appeals to you and supports your speech content.
This project includes:
■ The Your Toastmasters Journey resource
■ A 10- to 12-minute speech